Vance defends Trump as pope rebukes White House criticism

JD Vance defended Donald Trump as the president’s clash with Pope Leo XIV deepened, even as the first American pope rejected White House criticism and said he would keep speaking out for peace. Trump attacked Leo on Truth Social on April 12, calling him “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” then doubled down the next day by telling CBS News that the pope was “wrong on the issues.”

Leo answered while traveling to Algeria on April 13, saying he is not a politician, did not intend to enter into a debate with Trump, and had “no fear of the Trump administration.” He also said he would continue speaking out against war and pressing for peace and reconciliation, putting the dispute squarely in the language of the Vatican’s wider appeals rather than in partisan terms.

The confrontation has carried extra weight because Leo has already emerged as a sharp critic of Trump’s immigration and war policies. The feud also centers on Leo’s criticism of the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, an issue that has drawn him into direct conflict with the White House at a moment when the administration is trying to defend its foreign policy record.

Catholic leaders moved quickly to distance the church from the fight. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened” by Trump’s remarks and insisted that “Pope Leo is not his rival.” His response reflected the sensitivity of a dispute that touches both doctrine and politics, especially with a pope who speaks openly on war, migration and human dignity.

The political stakes are clear. AP VoteCast found that Trump won Catholic voters 54% to 44% over Kamala Harris in 2024, making the community a key part of his coalition even as many Catholics now appear unsettled by his attack on the first U.S.-born pontiff. Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago and elected on May 8, 2025, is also the first Augustinian pope and spent many years as a missionary in Peru, a background that has given his global message added resonance inside the United States.